Author: Sherrill Joseph

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detective Mysteries for middle-grade students (ages 9-12). You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. What I Learned as a Student “Miss ‘C,’ you tell the best stories from your travel slides!” said starry-eyed eight-year-old me to my pretty second grade teacher. Every Friday afternoon, the dazzling Miss ‘C’ would regale my classmates and me with tales of ancient Egypt as we gazed at her on-screen in the shadow of the Great Pyramid of…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for middle schoolers. You can find out more about her on her website, www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and buy her books here. “Ms. J, what does my name make you taste?” A fair question, the kind I am always asked by school students when I attend an author visit. An example of how a synesthetic person might associate a color with a letter or number. My kid-lit fans know I’m a synesthete. That’s a person with synesthesia. So is Rani Kumar, one…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for middle-grade students. You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, see her last post here, and find her books here. Some people do or do not celebrate Halloween because of their religious beliefs. Regardless, many of us love Halloween, and I am no exception. As the sun sets each October 31 and darkness overtakes our souls and neighborhoods, we—children and adults alike—are afforded the opportunity to address the mysteries that frighten us and even celebrate or poke fun at them.…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for ages 9 to 12. You can find out more about her on her website www.sherrilljoseph.com, or by clicking here, read her last post here, and find her books here. If you are a reader, writer, or filmgoer, and your answer is, “YES,” then I say, “Perfect!” Aficionados of crime, thriller, mystery, whodunits, or suspense stories want to be confused by red herrings and MacGuffins. Why? Because when used effectively as plot devices in those genres, red herrings and MacGuffins help writers craft compelling stories, leaving an adrenaline-fueled…

Sherrill Joseph is the author of the Botanic Hill Detectives mystery series for children. You can find out more about her here, see her books here, and read her last post here. “So, why are you torturing my son by teaching him cursive?” That was the first question I, a staunch proponent of formal Zaner-Bloser cursive instruction, received from the frowning parent of one of my fifth graders at Back-to-School Night in September 2012. Not exactly the auspicious start I hoped for that evening. But the question reveals the ongoing divide in America: Should students be taught cursive handwriting anymore?…